Columbus East’s Eduardo Aranda Michel, right, attempts to tackle the ball from Columbus North’s Parker Gribbins during a soccer match at the BCSC Soccer Complex in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. North defeated East by a score of 2-0.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
When four-year starting center back Leo Iorio went down with a shoulder injury in Saturday’s loss at Center Grove, Columbus North boys soccer coach Andy Glover had to do a little rearranging with his lineup.
Glover moved forward Mathiang Kak, last year’s leading scorer, to center back, and the Bull Dogs defense hasn’t faltered. They did not allow a shot on goal until the final minute of Thursday’s 2-0 win against crosstown rival Columbus East.
“It’s not been a struggle, but it’s been a change, and we’re able to manage it quite easily,” said the other center back, junior Brody Johnson, who scored a goal Thursday.
Both of the goals for Class 3A No. 19 North (3-2-1) came off corner kicks. The first was in the 12th minute, when junior Manuel Valle headed one in from Luccas Peda.
“I just saw Lucas cross it, and there was nobody marking me, so I ran in and got a header and it just went in,” Valle said.
Johnson added the second goal in the 53rd minute after Peda’s corner kick had bounced off a couple other players in front of the net.
“I was in the right place at the right time and just capitalized on my opportunities,” Johnson said.
“The two players who scored goals today, they don’t normally get a lot of opportunity to do so, and both of them capitalized on their moments,” Glover added. “I was really proud of them.”
The Bull Dogs outshot the Olympians 15-6, putting eight shots on goal to one for East. Ryder Meek recorded six saves for the Olympians (1-3), which had dropped one-goal games against 3A No. 16 Castle and at Bloomington North in the past week.
“Our boys fought and hung in until the end,” East coach Sam LaVelle said. “We feel good about where we’re at. Our boys never gave up. We’re there in the big games. We have to figure out how to finish them now.”
Nicolas De Linan Palacios played the first 68 minutes in goal for North. Jaden Andrade played the final 12 minutes and posted one save.
Iorio is questionable to return this season. He will wait a couple weeks before deciding if he will need surgery before the end of the season.
“Our environment is multi-functional, so we have a lot of pieces that we can move around, which is really great, and I am just delighted that Mathiang embraced his role on the team, no questions asked, and did a great job there,” Glover said. “We sorely miss Leo, but we do our very best to compensate.”
